Southend-on-Sea in Transition

TRANSITION WESTCLIFF FOOD SUBGROUP

Please note that this is a work in progress, if you have any ideas or contributions please leave a comment in the box below

1. CONTEXT FOR TRANSITION WESTCLIFF FOOD SUBGROUP
   

   1. Peak oil

      1. Energy descent

      2. Transport implications

      3. oil based fertility

   2. Climate change

   3. Increasing economic instability

   4. Food security

   5. Sustainability

      1. Increase resilience

2. AIMS OF TRANSITION WESTCLIFF FOOD SUBGROUP
   

   1. Networking and partnerships. Forge links and share resources between existing food related groups and projects such as allotments, Milton Community Partnership ‘Fruit and Veg Together Food Co-op’ and ‘Credit Crunch Cooking Club’, Growing Together, WEN allotment project, South East Essex Organic Gardeners, etc, etc

   2. Add energy descent/post carbon context onto existing projects. Many existing projects

   3. Post energy descent strategic planning – how will Westcliff and the rest of South East Essex feed itself when cheap oil is no longer available?

   4. Initiate new projects

   5. Education around food issues, including reskilling and awareness raising around food security

3. POLICY

   1. ‘Ends and Means’

   2. What we are

      1. Inclusive

      2. Open

      3. Broad based

      4. Driven by awareness of CC/PO challenges

      5. Multifunctional

      6. Community driven

   3. What we aren’t

      1. parochial

      2. Trying to take control of existing projects

      3. Critical of existing projects

      4. Don’t have all the answers

      5. No ‘experts’ culture

4. STRUCTURE

   1. Social enterprise?

   2. Business plan?

   3. Strategic plan?

   4. Interlink with other subgroups

      1. Use Viable Systems Model??

5. FUNDING

   1. Sources of funding? What grants etc are available and how do we access them?

   2. Why? What do we need funding for?

      1. Development of project

      2. Co-ordinator post

      3. Paid post means that local food sub group can be prioritised, rather than fitted in ‘when the time can be spared’

   3. How much do we need?

6. RESEARCH

   1. Food mapping – identifying potential local food growing locations, eg, allotments, school gardens, ‘waste land’, green spaces, roof tops, back gardens, public land, parks, etg, etc, etc

   2. How did we feed ourselves in the past? Where did Southend source its food before the age of cheap oil?

   3. Identify new opportunities for localisation of our food supply – food feet not food miles!

7. PROJECTS/INITIATIVES

   1. Garden share – pilot project underway in Westcliff

   2. Garden tours

   3. Scrumping project

   4. Local food directory

8. EDUCATION/OUTREACH – BRAINSTORM!
   

   1. Basic veg growing workshops

   2. Permaculture courses

   3. Forest gardening workshops

   4. Work with schools

   5. Publicity

      1. Website

      2. Echo

      3. Yellow Advertiser

      4. Level 4 magazine

      5. Healthy Living magazine/website

      6. South East Essex Organic Gardeners newsletter/website

      7. Milton Community Partnership newsletter

      8. Community and shop noticeboards, eg, Scarletts, etc

      9. Library network

9. PARTNERS – POTENTIAL AND ACTUAL (*)  – BRAINSTORM!
   

   1. Schools

      1. Westborough

      2. Barons Court

   2. Community projects

      1. Milton Community Partnership*

         1. Fruit and Veg Together box scheme*

         2. Credit Crunch cookery club*

      2. Growing Together*

      3. Emerge*

   3. Allotments

   4. Organistions/campaigning

      1. FOE*

      2. SEEOG*

         1. Organic seminars*

      3. WEN*

   5. Business sector

      1. Farmers markets

      2. Cafes

      3. Local shops

   6. Local Authority

Local Groups and Projects:

Essex Beekeepers’ Association (EBKA)

South East Essex Organic Gardeners
Promoting organic gardening since 1994

Westcliff Land Cultivation Society
Springfield Drive Allotments

Landshare – share your land, use land, find a buddy gardener

The War Garden
Westborough School demonstrates how the people of Britain developed resilience and self-reliance during a past time of crisis…

St Laurence Orchard
A local community orchard project linking nature, people and culture

Women’s Environmental Network Allotment
A local community allotment – come and join in the work

Organic Growing Month by Month

South East Essex Camra
Campaign for Real Ale http://www.drinkaware.co.uk/
CAMRA LocAle Lamb & Lion, Westcliff on Sea

Wider Circle:

RHS Campaign for School Gardening

Food For Life Partnership – transforming food culture, one school at a time

Slow Food Movement

Incredible Edible Todmorden

Holistic Land Managment – farms

Soil Association -healthy soil, healthy planet, healthy people

Garden Organic – the national charity for growing organic

Agroforestry Journal

Agroforestry Research Trust – UK, Devon

Permaculture Research Institute – Australia

Creating their forest garden – Maureen and Phil in Andalucia

Plant for the future -rare and unusual plants, particularly those which have edible, medicinal or other uses

Other

Grow your own – fruit and veg magazine

Seed to Plate – design your own plot online, order seeds